Schundler's undeserved burden

Bret Schundler is seeking a job as commissioner of education in Florida, carrying a handicap that he doesn’t deserve.

Schundler was fired as education commissioner in New Jersey in the wake of the Race to the Top fiasco. It was a tangled mess that cost the state $400 million, and Schundler deserves a share of the blame.

But he was not fired for that. He was fired a few days later, after Gov. Chris Christie accused him of lying. And on that count, Schundler was and remains an innocent man. The folks in Florida should know that.

Recall that after New Jersey failed to win this grant, Christie went on TV and attacked President Obama, saying he should come to New Jersey and apologize to its people.

The state had lost that $400 million because one piece of information was missing from an application as thick as a phone book. The governor blamed federal bureaucrats who, he said, would not let Schundler supply the needed information during the final meeting on the grant.

Oops. As it turned out, Schundler didn’t try because he knew the rules forbade any late changes. He had made this clear to Christie’s senior staff in several e-mails. So when the feds released a video of the meeting, the governor had egg on his face.

He chose Schundler as his scapegoat and accused him of lying about what happened during that final meeting. When the governor was asked about the e-mails showing that Schundler told the truth, he refused to say another word.

So for the record, Schundler is not a liar. On this one, the governor was out of bounds.